Although MSNBC host Martin Bashir's interview of conservative blogger/author Andrew Breitbart took place late last month, I still wanted to share it with you in case you missed it when it first aired like I did. The tough questions by Bashir had Breitbart ducking, dodging, and running for cover. Now this is how you interview someone who's a proven liar with highly questionable journalist ethics. Bashir's handling of Breitbart was the antithesis of his MSNBC colleague Dylan Ratigan, who just a day earlier lobbed softball after softball at the Tea Party darling.
5 comments:
What's funny to me is that you're proud of how Bashir handled Breitbart, while conservatives were crowing about how well Breitbart handled Bashir... Very different world views.
Breitbart has been caught doctoring videos to present lies about liberals--Shirley Sherrod, for example, and the egregiously doctored ACORN vids.
Martin Bashir has not, to anyone's knowledge, been involved in political hackery and bearing false witness.
People who admire the sort of chicanery Breitbart deals in would not have the sense to see how beautifully Mr. Bashir exposed Breitbart for the charlatan that he most assuredly is.
HR: That's the way it often is in today's polarized political world.
I don't have a problem with hard questions, that is good journalism. The problem here was that he had already answered his own questions, and any answer Breitbart gave which was contrary, was not accepted.
Shaw: Despite Breitbart's constant interruptions, Bashir did an excellent job of exposing him. In addition to Bashir's tough questioning, I also admire his patience because Breitbart did his best to stop Bashir from asking some of his questions.
Trestin: By proclaiming himself to be a truth telling journalist, Breitbart made it easy for Bashir to take him apart. From the get go, Breitbart used a tactic employed by people with weak arguments: he tried to shift the argument. He accused MSNBC of taking things out of context everyday, but provided no evidence to back up his claim. He even went to the tired talking point of trying to blame George Soros/Media Matters for the tough questions he had to face. Breitbart was trying to rewrite history and that's hard to do when there is ample evidence to the contrary of what he was saying in the interview.
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